[p38arover]

Sorry to tell that I don't own a "super" car like some members of this forum here.

Neither do we. Car are very expensive here compared with the USA and we are retired. (My wife's car is a 2009 Turbo Forester - her choice.)

[kadajawi]

I had the pleasure of driving a Peugeot 508 SW 120 HDI today, 600 km. Not bad, not bad. Ergonomics were good, it was pretty quiet at 180 km/h (let alone lower speeds), the suspension (with 16" rims) was fine. Not too hard. Steering was nicely weighted at high speeds, and light at low speeds. Without feeling artificial. Having a 1.5 liter diesel with 120 hp meant it wasn't all that fast, but it's ok. The automatic gearbox wasn't too bad either, surprisingly. It matched the car's character as a relaxed long distance cruiser on the highway.

[Ex Finn.]

Whats wrong with the F150 Raptor?

The USD60k+ entry fee, eek!

[p38arover]

The USD60k+ entry fee, eek!

Cheap!

2015 Ford F-150 Shelby in Ausralia is about A$217,000 (US$ 155,000).

[chromo]

2002 Celica, 208K miles. Runs well, 32 MPG. Front hubs make a clicking sound (for years) that I have learned to live with. New tires, brakes, coil and plugs this year. A bit of bondo thanks to people running into it. Once got stuck in sand...

On a good day at Trona Pinnacles in '08.


Not looking forward to replacing it, though its time will come. Actually, I probably would like something newer but don't want a car payment :-) This is from the CD/cassette era. The 3.5mm input was still a year or two away - though I have a cheap cassette adaptor for my Sansa MP3s.
Only con I can thing of is rear corner view is obstructed making backing out of a parking space an adventure.

That clicking must be annoying but easily fixed.
If it clicks when turning sharply, like parking, it could be a cv joint that needs replacing.
If it click while driving normally, it's probably the brake pad pins rattling. A common Toyota thing. Just remove the pads and put a thin smear of grease on the front of the piston where it presses on the pad. If the pins are badly worn they will need replacing

[photolady95]

I've never told ya'll what I drive. A boat. 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis LS, less than 100,000 miles on her. Fully loaded and heavy. Has a V8, so it sucks gas like crazy around town. She's powerful, too. I have to be careful or I'm going faster than the speed limit and she hates going 25MPH. Most of the speed limits around my town. I have a photo but it's buried in my 1tb drive. I'll see if I can find it one day.

[drypenn]

But yeah. The closest thing to a Miata is the new Ford Fiesta ST. I know that the FWD Fiesta doesn't have the same dynamics as a RWD Miata, but it is very fun in its own way. It's fairly cheap too. I can also lug some stuff with me. That's something I have a hard time with in the Miata. My wife will finally hop into this one as well.

The Fiesta ST will be better than the MX5 if it's a straight road. But I'd rather take an MX5 in the mountain, and run those twists and curves like a Miata would.

But yes, I know how you feel when trying to load some stuff into the Miata It's really not meant to carry anything.

[dngr]

Been hankering for a lowered dually chev.

[Ratmagiclady]

Been hankering for a lowered dually chev.

Wouldn't 'Lowering' and 'Duallie' be at cross-purposes? If you want more speed, etc, why not just get a non-duallie and put fat tires under a bed from one? (I mean, it seems if you were going to lower one, you'd lose the benefit of all the extra weight you're carrying around, but still have to carry it around. )

---------- Post added 03-02-16 at 01:53 PM ----------

The Fiesta ST will be better than the MX5 if it's a straight road. But I'd rather take an MX5 in the mountain, and run those twists and curves like a Miata would.

But yes, I know how you feel when trying to load some stuff into the Miata It's really not meant to carry anything.

I would probably like a non-ragtop MX5 like you can get in Japan, though, (But I really wouldn't want a right-hand drive car unless I lived somewhere that is the usual.) If I had a US market Miata I'd probably just remove the ragtop and maybe get one of those more-coupe-like hardtop kits: that'd free space and weight even if they don't look as elegant as the Japanese version made to be that way. Enough to carry, oh, I dunno, some cameras and stuff.

Also if any Miata I could get had a decent shape ragtop, (Not so likely) I could probably sell that for parts I would want. Then be more zoomey.

[mattb123]

Wouldn't 'Lowering' and 'Duallie' be at cross-purposes? If you want more speed, etc, why not just get a non-duallie and put fat tires under a bed from one?

Lowered trucks take the least desirable qualities of cars and mixes them with the least desirable qualities of a truck*. Who wouldn't want that?!?!

*at least for living in rural Colorado

[Ratmagiclady]

Lowered trucks take the least desirable qualities of cars and mixes them with the least desirable qualities of a truck*. Who wouldn't want that?!?!

*at least for living in rural Colorado

Probably so indeed. At least with the heavy frame and stuff that come with duallies. I do think my days of needing to or being *capable of* overloading a 'mere' F150 bed are basically over, mind you, but the suspension height was useful even there.

Actually my plan is to up the capacity on my Volvo wagon a bit and hopefully get hold of enough nice suspension components to keep *that* handling nicely, (One option might even be best-available Bilstein shocks, a bigger rear sway bar.... And tennis balls in the stock coil springs even. In lieu of actually just getting the special overload springs first. It's a done thing, believe it or not. I'm not sure my Yankee sensibilities will put up with it long if I do it though. )

[kadajawi]

I've never told ya'll what I drive. A boat. 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis LS, less than 100,000 miles on her. Fully loaded and heavy. Has a V8, so it sucks gas like crazy around town. She's powerful, too. I have to be careful or I'm going faster than the speed limit and she hates going 25MPH. Most of the speed limits around my town. I have a photo but it's buried in my 1tb drive. I'll see if I can find it one day.

Oh. Reminds me of the Peugeot 508 rental car... even though it had a puny little diesel with 120 hp it did go relatively fast rather effortlessly. Combined with good dampening and you're going beyond the speed limit very easily. Where there is a speed limit, at least. Above 160 km/h acceleration got pretty bad though, but I was surprised it could even do that easily.

Probably so indeed. At least with the heavy frame and stuff that come with duallies. I do think my days of needing to or being *capable of* overloading a 'mere' F150 bed are basically over, mind you, but the suspension height was useful even there.

Actually my plan is to up the capacity on my Volvo wagon a bit and hopefully get hold of enough nice suspension components to keep *that* handling nicely, (One option might even be best-available Bilstein shocks, a bigger rear sway bar.... And tennis balls in the stock coil springs even. In lieu of actually just getting the special overload springs first. It's a done thing, believe it or not. I'm not sure my Yankee sensibilities will put up with it long if I do it though. )

If it is space and load capacity you need, besides a truck of course, what about a Ford Tourneo Connect? I think they sell those in the US...?

[Ratmagiclady]

I've never told ya'll what I drive. A boat. 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis LS, less than 100,000 miles on her. Fully loaded and heavy. Has a V8, so it sucks gas like crazy around town. She's powerful, too. I have to be careful or I'm going faster than the speed limit and she hates going 25MPH. Most of the speed limits around my town. I have a photo but it's buried in my 1tb drive. I'll see if I can find it one day.

Well, those are pretty robust, at least. Some friends of mine have one that might actually end up getting parted out depending how things go. (It's been off the road a while originally for minor reasons, but who knows what else has gone bad in the meantime. The interior's probably intolerably-nasty at least, but, well, if things go very badly for my friends, it may as well donate some parts before scrapping, if it goes very well for them, same or similar, ....if things go moderately-OK for them it might make sense for them to get another one and let me make one worthwhile car out of the two. In any of these cases there should be extra parts.

---------- Post added 03-02-16 at 02:53 PM ----------

If it is space and load capacity you need, besides a truck of course, what about a Ford Tourneo Connect? I think they sell those in the US...?

I think so, possibly just called a 'Connect' or 'Transit' if I recall, but those are all still pretty damn expensive even as old as they come, and in stripped-down trim. (20-30k minimum, if I recall. Even the oldest available are still pretty new.) My car cost 1600 bucks with known problems, and I'm still working on getting her up to scratch. Cause poor. (Present book value is under 700 but Volvo wagons are still desireable enough,) so something still costing 20K wouldn't be possible even if I had to live in it. Also *owning* something as valuable as one of those new vans would only get my fixed income shut off, till I sold it, (getting hit by the markup coming and going if I had the money in the first place, ) waited till the quarter left of that money was gone, then went through all the process and privation and probably missing rent checks getting said back. So the book value's too high to contemplate unless it somehow enabled me to make enough to keep it and myself in the first place. )

(I was helping a local nonprofit shop for vehicles though, and they were totally priced out of any of those or anything similar available: those are still at least an order of magnitude out of my league. For me, even what I've got is about all that's left of my part of my ex's and my nest egg after about eight years and that doesn't come along routinely either. Anyway, those are on a whole different scale, but do seem like a very good idea to have around. Really I am OK with a station wagon and some contractors' type roof bars for most of what I can do, I just need to raise the capacity in back a couple hundred pounds or so from some 300K mile-old springs and then control *those* cause poor driving enthusiasts are still driving enthusiasts, and improvements don't actually cost a lot *more* than just replacing worn-out parts that need doing anyway, so I can be suspension-happy. ) I've promised myself that, because if I have to leave the South for various reasons, I only get to take what of my life a car can carry and in the meanwhile I'm trying to get various work done as I can. Hopefully then clear enough to get like, eyeglasses and or better autofocus so as to actually photo things again. )

[Just1MoreDave]

The Fiesta ST will be better than the MX5 if it's a straight road. But I'd rather take an MX5 in the mountain, and run those twists and curves like a Miata would.

But yes, I know how you feel when trying to load some stuff into the Miata It's really not meant to carry anything.

Five cubic feet! My wife and I can just manage to fit all we need for a week's vacation into a 2001 Miata. Every storage spot is full. Like be careful stopping along the way to buy a bottle of wine. Also, I always thought the horsepower was fine, but loaded like that and up at typical Colorado mountain altitude, it's a little short on power. The SLK250 takes care of all these problems (not cheaply). If you want to put the top down, you have six cubic feet of storage, 20% more. Or ten cubic feet and a non-convertible. The engine makes more power and it's turbocharged so power doesn't fall off dramatically at altitude. You can even fit stuff in the cabin.

[drypenn]

Five cubic feet! My wife and I can just manage to fit all we need for a week's vacation into a 2001 Miata. Every storage spot is full. Like be careful stopping along the way to buy a bottle of wine. Also, I always thought the horsepower was fine, but loaded like that and up at typical Colorado mountain altitude, it's a little short on power. The SLK250 takes care of all these problems (not cheaply). If you want to put the top down, you have six cubic feet of storage, 20% more. Or ten cubic feet and a non-convertible. The engine makes more power and it's turbocharged so power doesn't fall off dramatically at altitude. You can even fit stuff in the cabin.

Five cubic feet is actually generous compared to my other car.

I can't afford an SLK but I have one of these.

(Picture not mine).

It's as slow as molasses, whines like an unfed cat, as bouncy as a pingpong ball, and forget ABS/EBD, and that gamut of initials, hill launch assist, heck, it doesn't even have an airbag!!!. But boy, it surely can climb anything! It's like a Miata on stiletto.

My most fun car to drive actually!

---------- Post added 03-03-16 at 10:18 PM ----------

Cheap!

2015 Ford F-150 Shelby in Ausralia is about A$217,000 (US$ 155,000).

Almost same price here, about $146,000! Now I'm curious as to how much it will cost in Singapore (where very car seems like doubled our current prices)